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Trailer has been released for this film (based loosely on a Philip K Dick short story), starring Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, and is the directorial debut of screenwriter George Nolfi (Bourne Ultimatum, Ocean's Twelve). Check it out here:

I wish someone could truly adapt Philip Dick's science fiction for the screen. Blade Runner was probably the best attempt so far. Most versions have suffered from some fatal flaw - miscasting, poor writing etc.

IMHO the only film that brought across Dick's particular brand of unreality was A Scanner Darkly. Keanu Reeves was perfect for the stoned confusion of the main character(s).

I'd like to see someone tackle Ubik, or 3 Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.

I want to see it too, I saw the trailer in the theater a couple of weeks ago and was intrigued. I think Emily Blunt is about the best young actress out there; Damon is always solid, too. The supporting cast promises to be equally impressive. Terrance Stamp is always good and Lauren Hodges impressed me in her role on the late, lamented, Rubicon, as has John Slattery on Mad Men. I just hope Hollywood doesn't butcher Dick's work as it has done so often in the past. When he is given the benefit of a good adaptation, as he was in Blade Runner, Dick's stories translate to the screen very well.

I want to see it too, I saw the trailer in the theater a couple of weeks ago and was intrigued. I think Emily Blunt is about the best young actress out there; Damon is always solid, too. The supporting cast promises to be equally impressive. Terrance Stamp is always good and Lauren Hodges impressed me in her role on the late, lamented, Rubicon, as has John Slattery on Mad Men. I just hope Hollywood doesn't butcher Dick's work as it has done so often in the past. When he is given the benefit of a good adaptation, as he was in Blade Runner, Dick's stories translate to the screen very well.

The term is "loosely based". What that means is that they keep the fresh original concept at the center of the PKD short story, and graft it into their own different plot, with a different setting and different characters.

In this case, the core concept was that the Earth is divided into "sectors", and time can be stopped in each and adjustments made to the reality flow. This is similar -very similar- to the central plot device in Dark City(1998) for which PKD received no writing credit. But note that the original PKD short story was first published in 1954, and subsequently in eight other volumes. Any one of the three WGA script writers for that film may have read the short story. The PKD story also bears an uncanny resemblance to certain works by a 1940's SF writer - specificly the H. Beam Piper "Paratime" stories.

Hollywood rewrites frequently produce nothing recognizable. As for example when Issac Asimov's children's short story collection about robots became a Will Smith SF action/thriller film still entitled I, Robot. They kept the character name Dr. Susan Calvin, the "Three Laws of Robotics", and the book title, and changed everything else.

^It is a shame the screenwriting scavengers are allowed to practice in Hollywood.
Where's the IMAGINATION?
Either give a fairly accurate representation of a book, story, etc. or come up with something ORIGINAL.

In the immortal words of Sydney Greenstreet's Kasper Gutman to Boggie's Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, "By Gad, sir, you are a character. There's never any telling what you'll say or do next, except that it's bound to be something astonishing." By the way, that's a compliment.

In the immortal words of Sydney Greenstreet's Kasper Gutman to Boggie's Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, "By Gad, sir, you are a character. There's never any telling what you'll say or do next, except that it's bound to be something astonishing." By the way, that's a compliment.

Thank you, old friend.

TMF reference inspires me to put the BD back in my Upcoming Attractions pile for another viewing...

Shakespeare I understand, but never would've guessed Dickens has had that many productions made. Good trivia to know.

That sort of thing is why this is my favorite AVS Forum. Many posters here love films and know a lot about them. I seem to learn something new here every day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oink

Thank you, old friend.

TMF reference inspires me to put the BD back in my Upcoming Attractions pile for another viewing...

I recently got a fresh Maltese Falcon fix when I watched the BD. Boggie and John Huston did good work together. Last week I watched The Treasure of the Sierra Madre BD and was blown away again. Those are two great films!

There's an interesting sidelight to those films. In The Maltese Falcon, John Huston's father, the great actor, Walter Huston, played the bit part of the ship's captain who had the falcon. John cast Walter again in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre in the featured role of the old prospector, Howard. Walter Huston won his one and only Oscar for that performance. John also cast himself in a bit part as an American tourist who Fred C. Dobbs panhandled on three separate occasions without ever recognizing him.

What any of the foregoing has to do with The Adjustment Bureau escapes me, so forgive me for my meandering.

^It is a shame the screenwriting scavengers are allowed to practice in Hollywood.
Where's the IMAGINATION?
Either give a fairly accurate representation of a book, story, etc. or come up with something ORIGINAL.

I recently got a fresh Maltese Falcon fix when I watched the BD. Boggie and John Huston did good work together. Last week I watched The Treasure of the Sierra Madre BD and was blown away again. Those are two great films!

There's an interesting sidelight to those films. In The Maltese Falcon, John Huston's father, the great actor, Walter Huston, played the bit part of the ship's captain who had the falcon. John cast Walter again in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre in the featured role of the old prospector, Howard. Walter Huston won his one and only Oscar for that performance. John also cast himself in a bit part as an American tourist who Fred C. Dobbs panhandled on three separate occasions without ever recognizing him.

I haven't quite got to my Sierra Madre BD yet...
But it is one of my all-time favorite movies.
If all movies were this good.

TMF and TotSM will be watched and enjoyed and marveled at long after we turn to dust....

For what it's worth, my coworker saw this movie at an advance screening and said she liked it. I don't know what to think about that because I assume our tastes in movies are dissimilar.

The primary reason I am interested in The Adjustment Bureau is its outstanding cast, particularly the wonderful Emily Blunt. If the writers did a good job of preserving Philip K Dick's story, it would be a bonus but I think the film has a chance even without that.

The primary reason I am interested in The Adjustment Bureau is its outstanding cast, particularly the wonderful Emily Blunt. If the writers did a good job of preserving Philip K Dick's story, it would be a bonus but I think the film has a chance even without that.

Dont know much about the story but going by the trailer its looks like a movie I will definitely enjoy. I agree also having a good cast behind it helps too.

OK, I caught the last show Monday night, there were but five people in the theater including me. This movie like many was originally filmed in 35mm, then it was processed as a 4K Digital Intermediate, and therefore I went to my favorite theater with the Sony CineAlta 4K digital projector, and viewed a bit-perfect digital distribution print. It was one of the smaller CIW theaters and the AR was 1.85:1, with a well-photographed, mostly daylit image.

My overall impression is: Not half bad. I give it an A-. We are not talking about anything deep or any spectacular special effects, but a well done, understandable linear plot, enough action in the form of chase scenes, and enough originality that you seldom know what to expect. Not to mention the comely Emily Blunt.

This IS NOT a hard SF story, it's a fantasy with a vaguely religious theme. A readiness to accept the concepts of Destiny/Fate/Karma would help you buy into the basic plot device. The plot vaguely resembles some parts of Dark City without being derivative of that film.

Matt Damon plays a generic young politician - and I do mean really generic, none of his political positions are ever discussed, and you can't even identify him as a Republican or Democrat - he wears a striped Red/Blue tie. Yet he is convincing in this role as he is in almost all.

Emily Blount plays the ballarina who captivates him at first sight. She again turns in an excellant, convincing performance, as she did in The Wolfman.

The always slightly menacing Terence Stamp leads the mysterious human-appearing-but-not-human members of the "Adjustment Bureau". They have powers that are never completely enumerated, but we are given to understand that they need extensive training, long experience, and there is some form of technology built into their hats. They work in a heirarchy and ultimately report to someone who may be the Supreme Being - although perhaps he is more analogous to the "Architect" of the Matrix films.

The central plot device is whether the two principle characters will or will not spend their lives together - and whether or not the men of the Adjustment Bureau will succeed in keeping them apart. But this is not maudlin or sentimental, it is genuinely suspensefull and intriguing.

It is also a movie that you can take your non-SF-appreciating spouse or SO to, and both enjoy. The most spectacular special effect is a paper book that displays a constantly changing version of "The Plan". Had they simply used digital pads instead of magical printed books, there literally would not be any visual effects.

Reccomended for theatrical viewing. OK to wait for the disk version. Probably not an Oscar contender, and probably not a Keeper - at least, I'm not buying this one.

For SF movies based on PKD (loosely), this one has very little action which is not the main reason why I did not care for it. It's the tone of the movie that I do not believe in due to my upbringing. Life is full of choices.

However, living in the tri-state area for over 40 years, I knew some of these streets and buildings by heart, so the sense of realism yields additional positive impacts, such as Dover and Water streets.